


Redemption of a Queen

by Baticorngirl



Category: Batman (Comics), DC Comics
Genre: F/M, Lazarus Pit, Pregnancy, child abuse mentions, revival
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:02:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27060868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Baticorngirl/pseuds/Baticorngirl
Summary: Talia Al Ghul has been missing Bruce for far too long now. But, luckily for her, she finds out about a fairly easy way to see him. Talia goes, happy to be so close with her Beloved once again. Soon after, she decides she wants to leave the League of Assassins for Batman, influenced by the fact that she is pregnant with their second child. But will it really work out? DEAD
Relationships: Bruce Wayne & Damian Wayne, Bruce Wayne & Martha Wayne & Thomas Wayne, Martha Wayne/Thomas Wayne, Ra's al Ghul & Talia al Ghul, Talia al Ghul & Damian Wayne, Talia al Ghul/Bruce Wayne
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Note: I do not own any of the characters in this story. DC Comics owns them.
> 
> This story isn't using Grant Morrison's version of Talia Al Ghul. How she got pregnant with Damian also isn't what Morrison said it was, but rather a one-night stay.
> 
> The plot for this story was a request from Alvaroant on fanfiction.net, so the story idea isn't mine. A lot of the plot is about Talia reforming, so if you think she's pure evil, don't read this fan fiction! Also, to read this, I'd recommend you ship Batman x Talia Al Ghul.
> 
> Please read and review! Every review is very much appreciated. Anyway, let's get into the story!
> 
> Edit: This story is dead, so please enjoy what chapters are there, but understand that no new chapters will be posted.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Talia stared down at the clock in her hands. It was as if she was waiting for something to end, or something to begin. She was waiting for something, but unlike most scenarios, she had no idea when it would come. When this wait would be over, and she wouldn't feel quite so lonely.

"How long, I wonder…." She mumbled to herself, thinking of the last time she had seen him. It had been quite a long time ago, but she had lost track of how long. Months? Years? Decades? It at least felt like decades.

She missed him. Batman. Bruce. Batsy. He had a thousand names. She was sure that if she were to make a list, she'd need more than one piece of paper. But despite this long list, she thought of him as one thing; "Beloved", her true love.

She reached her hand into a drawer, "Where is it?" She wondered to herself. Her hand kept feeling around in the drawer until it reached the smooth glass of a picture frame. She pulled the picture out.

That rare smile of his was what really jumped out about the photo. He was always so depressed. So serious. That was what made his smile so much more rewarding. The smile he only showed to people who he truly loved, people like her. The picture was so perfect, both of their smiles completely genuine, not the fake ones people always seemed to put on for the camera. She wondered why it was stuck inside an old drawer, when it should have been on her nightstand, so she could look at it every time she went to sleep. She had been having trouble sleeping lately, with all the loneliness she felt, so perhaps this would help.

She placed it on the table, moving another picture to the side to make room for it. On another table in her bedroom, there was a picture of her and Damian together, one that was almost as good as this one, just a bit more staged, but the picture she was moving aside right then did not measure up to either.

She hated that photo. The entire thing was just so… fake. Every smile. The playful energy they had tried to set up. Maybe to a person who wasn't there for the actual event it would be a good photo, but she was there. She knew how depressed she had actually felt. She knew that the second before the picture, her father had hardly looked happy, maybe just the tiniest bit proud, but not to the point of smiling. She remembered the guilt she had felt. The fear of herself. At least the picture of her and Damian wasn't completely staged and faked. At least she had been happy, even if he had been kind of embarrassed about the way she was hugging him. But this photo was a pure lie.

"My first kill…." She brushed her hand across it. All those emotions she had felt came flooding back. By now, she had gotten used to the feeling of killing someone. It felt normal, and even, depending on the person, justified and righteous to do so. But sometimes, there were still times where she didn't think the person deserved to get killed, but would somehow end up doing it anyway. Those were the real times when killing someone got hard. The same way it was for her when she was a child.

But no, she wouldn't ever stop, or leave the league of assassins, because supposedly it was all worth it for her father's affection. Even though, because of her place in the league, seeing her Beloved Batman had become extremely hard. So hard that sometimes she started to wonder if he was even still alive.

She looked back down at the dreadful picture of her and her father. She didn't want to look at it, as it made her sad. Sad for the innocence she had lost. Sad for the childhood she had spent training for him. Sad for how it felt every day her father showed less and less love towards her.

But at least there were people like Batman, who would show his love for her no matter what, and be there for her even when she made mistakes. She sighed, thinking again about how long it would be until she'd get to see him again. Most of the time she could manage not seeing him for so long, but right then, she missed him so much more than normal.

Talia looked back at the picture of her and Bruce. Maybe the loneliness and the way she could never stop thinking about him for a second wouldn't be as bad if she just looked at the photo for comfort and pretended that it had only been yesterday. But truthfully, deep inside she knew the only thing that would really help is seeing him again.

A bat flew out from behind a curtain. "Beloved?" Talia asked, hoping for Batman to be following it. They did always seem to be where he was. But to her dismay, the bat was on its own. She opened the window to let the creature out.

"He's back in Gotham," Talia reminded herself. As she glanced around the room, making absolute sure the bat wasn't a sign of him being there, she spotted something outside her door in the hallway. "An old newspaper," She said to herself, walking towards it. She learned it was from Gotham as she read closer, and was not very old at all. Actually, just a week old. She figured her father may have been considering going to Gotham for a bit, and had wanted to get a look on what was going on there. He then, she guessed, had specially gotten a copy of the Gotham's newspaper, but later decided not to take the trip.

Talia scanned the articles. One caught her eye. She, while scanning, had seen it mention "Bruce Wayne". So, wanting to learn more about how her Beloved was doing, decided to read into it.

"Fundraising Gala later this month" The title stated, while as below it, "Bruce Wayne" was marked as a co-host who helped with the party. None of it was some sort of surprise that something like this was happening, but it made her start thinking. If he was a co-host, he'd most certainly be at the gala. But what if he saw someone unexpected there? Someone who had been missing him especially much in the past few weeks. Someone who just needed, so bad, to see him. To feel his love and give him love in return. To just be with him for that one night.

She thought it over. There was no way her father would let her go to the gala. He'd probably claim Batman was a "bad influence" on her or something. Truthfully, she found that he brought out the best in her. An innocence that she didn't even know was inside her. Being with him was magical for her. But her father would never understand any of the wonder of their love. That didn't mean she couldn't figure out some way to see him again, though.

Talia picked up the newspaper. She went back into her room, closing the door behind herself. She looked back down on the article, or actually, what was more of an ad for the gala. It said that the date of the gala was almost four weeks from when the newspaper had been published, meaning it was still three weeks off from right then. She had just enough time to plan. Stuffing the newspaper into a drawer, she went off to continue her day. But this time, with a smile on her face, knowing she would soon be with her Beloved, dancing the night off in his arms.


	2. Chapter 2

"Father?" Talia asked the next day, "I need to go down to Gotham soon… For business." She smiled nervously, waiting for his response. He raised an eyebrow at her, trying to hide his suspicion.

"What kind of business?" He questioned. She thought about it for a second. Talia had been just hoping he wouldn't question it, and let her go without a problem. She bit her lip, thinking of what to say.

"I… just have to keep up with my undercover identity. Talia Head, remember?" She lied. Talia would have to use that identity to go to the dance, anyway. She wouldn't want anyone realizing who she was.

"I see…." Ra's paused in his sentence, evaluation whether or not this made sense. "We wouldn't want anyone to think you just disappeared. You can go. When do you wish to leave?"

"Maybe in a week or two?" She answered, thankful that he wasn't coming up with any excuses to keep her from going.

"I'd rather you had time to plan. You'll go in two weeks. But why do you need to leave so soon, anyway? Why can't you wait until next month?" Ra's wondered aloud. Talia thought about this question.

"I believe people are already wondering why I don't seem to do anything in person. I wouldn't want to give them enough time to question my very existence…" She replied.

"Fine, but then you can probably still wait two weeks and a half, if not three weeks. I doubt anyone will be that suspicious in just a few more weeks." Ra's argued. He didn't even think this trip was worth her taking at all, much less so immediately.

"You're right…." Talia admitted, worried she wouldn't manage to convince him it was important enough that she had to go in less than three weeks. "I'll go in two weeks and a half."

"Fine, then. But how long do you need to stay there for? Don't you really just need to be seen a couple times and then go? This entire trip is worthless as it is. There's no reason for you to stay more than a couple days…" Ra's expressed his distaste to the whole idea.

"I'll be staying for a week." She stated, slightly nervous that he would reject. She at least had to stay for 3 days, as otherwise she wouldn't even be there for the gala. If she wasn't going to be at the gala, why would she go at all? That was the true reason for the visit, after all.

"Very well. You can go for a week. But you better just do your business, okay?" Ra's looked her right in the eyes, "You're there to prove you exist, not to socialize."

Talia shook her head, breaking the intense eye contact. "I'm not a small child. I understand what I'm supposed to do, and I'll do it." She turned around, ready to go back to her room, tired of talking about and making excuses for her little lie.

Talia felt her father spin her back to face him."Daughter, you don't seem to understand what I'm saying. I know you'll do that... The real question is whether or not some other business will get involved."

"I…" Talia stuttered, "Of course not. I promise." She turned around again, half expecting him to turn her back around with more suspicions, but lucky for her, he didn't. She continued off to her room, shaking off any worries of her father figuring out.

A FEW WEEKS LATER

Bruce sat in the limo, uncomfortably repositioning his collar over and over again. Another gala. More small talk. More dancing with people he just met. More wasted time.

At first, galas could be pretty fun. Dancing, a fancy dinner, and all sorts of other entertainment. But after attending nearly a thousand of them, Bruce had gotten tired of them. Sure, they were okay, but still quite boring.

For his reputation, though, he just kind of had to pretend he was having fun. To pretend that these parties were his life. That he didn't ever think about all the other, more productive things he could be doing. Or even just something else that he'd have more fun doing. No, for billionaire Bruce Wayne, partying was everything.

He sighed. It wasn't really that the activities were boring. It was more that the people he was doing it with were boring. Well, maybe not boring…. But he didn't know any of them very well. Because of this, they weren't very fun to hang out with.

He wanted to spend time with people he actually cared about, not these strangers. He wanted to spend time with his kids. He wanted to spend time with Alfred. He wanted to spend time with Talia, who he hadn't seen in far too long.

But here he was, wasting his time chatting with strangers for the millionth time. He could be with his family. His friends. People who were actually his loved ones. But no, he was going there. To the gala of wasted time.

He kept thinking about how he could have just donated a chunk of money to the charity directly, instead of deciding to co-host this gala. Of course, his reputation as a party-boy needed to be kept up so no one thought he could be Batman, and this wouldn't have helped. The public thought he loved nothing more than social events with dozens of strangers. The truth was, he was quite a bit more introverted than that. But then again, few people knew the real Bruce Wayne, and this was just one thing they didn't know about him.

Fairly soon, Bruce arrived at the gala. He made his way inside, flashing a smile to the paparazzi. But under all that, he wasn't feeling all that happy to be there at all. Little did he know, a pleasant surprise awaited him.

Once inside, he surveyed the room, looking for someone to make small talk with. He went up to a man who seemed to be looking for someone to talk with. The man wore a light gray suit with a dark blue tie.

"Hello. My name's Bruce Wayne." He began, putting on a smile as he shook the guy's hand.

"Nice to meet you, Wayne. I think I've seen you in photographs... Oh, and I'm Jake Anderson." The man replied.

"Nice to meet you, as well."

Their conversation went fairly flat after this. Just remarks about the weather and complimenting each other's outfits and such. Bruce was just about ready to move on to another person, when he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"Beloved?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter wasn't that exciting, but Brutalia moments do await in the next one!
> 
> Also, Jake Anderson is a completely random name, and is not a real character, in case you were wondering.


	3. Chapter 3

Bruce turned around, half thinking he had just imagined it. Why would Talia be here? Isn't she somewhere with the League of Assassins? And even if she's in Gotham, why'd she be at this gala? He found the whole thing to be too good to be true. But sure enough, he found Talia to be standing behind him, a smile on her face.

"Talia… you look lovely tonight." He looked up and down at her, taking in her elegant appearance. Talia wore a long, silky green dress, one that almost perfectly matched her eyes. Her hair was down, occasionally lifting up in the wind that soared through the balcony they were standing on. Her cheeks were painted rose-colored, and her eyes sparkling like stars. Looking like a princess from a fairytale, she gave Bruce a quick peck on the lips.

"Thank you. It's been so long…" Talia replied, thinking again about how long it'd been since they had last seen each other. She stepped closer to him, putting her arms loosely around the back of his neck like she was going to kiss him. He, in response, put his arms around her waist to hold her. They both smiled softly.

"You're right….." Bruce agreed, "But why are you even here? I just… wasn't expecting to see you." He looked down, wishing they could have nights like this more often. Bruce wanted so badly for seeing her to not be such a rare occurrence, as if things really got out of control, sometimes they would even go almost a year (Or even more) between visits.

"Can't a lady just go to a fundraising gala?" She laughed, "Okay, fine, I saw you were co-hosting this. So can't a lady just want to see her boy after so long with hardly any contact?" Bruce chuckled in response, and Talia nudged him even closer to her.

"I missed you, too." Bruce smiled. Talia leaned her head against his shoulder, cuddling into his arms. "But Talia.. This is really just about seeing me?" He asked.

"Yes. What else would it be about?" Talia picked her head up from his shoulder to answer the question. Her smile started to fade, "Is there a problem with me coming over to see you?"

"No, no, of course not! It's just…" Bruce stuttered, trying to find a way to say what he wanted to without anyone becoming suspicious. Saying "Ra's Al Ghul" inside a perfectly normal gala is a little weird.

Talia started to smile once again, "Good. But then what is it? Is it about 'you know who'?"

Bruce nodded, "He just… doesn't like me very much."

"Ah, Beloved, you think this visit has something to do with him? You always have to be so suspicious of everything, don't you?" She joked, tracing her hand over his chest nonchalantly.

"But then how'd you…?" Bruce asked, still confused by how she'd made her way here. He knew her father wasn't about to let her just have a nice evening with him, no matter how much she would enjoy it. But he had no idea how she'd managed to get here, and it could be a long story. One that wouldn't be able to be explained without making people suspicious in a public place like this. "Nevermind, we'll talk about it later."

"Good. But we can't waste our evening with just saying 'hello'. Beloved, would you care to dance with me?" She asked, taking a step back from him. Talia put her hand out for him to take. She grinned warmly, tilting her head towards the dance floor.

"Of course. I'd love to," Bruce instantly took her hand, and they made their way over to the dancing area.

Talia wrapped her arms around him, and he did the same to her. They both smiled at each other as they spun around the dance floor happily. The music was slow, flowing smoothly along with the pace of their feet.

LATER THAT EVENING

"Well, looks like the party's over…." Bruce commented as all the guests began to make their way to the door. The butlers and servants at the gala began to clean up the tables and sweep up the floors.

"Yes, but our fun doesn't have to be." Talia took his hand and led him over to her car, "We can't just leave this special visit to the party, can we? I believe Alfred can bring your limo back to the manor himself."

"That's true…" He smiled, "Sure, we can go over to your hotel. We still have a lot to catch up on," He followed Talia over to her car, where they began to drive back to her hotel room.

Once they were there, they both began to sputter out questions at each other. It had been quite a long time, and catching up at the party just wouldn't work with their secretive lives.

"Is Damian doing okay? How's my little boy?" Talia began.

"He's doing fine. Even made friends with Superman's kid, Jon, and this other superhero kid his age named Collin. But he misses you a lot." Bruce informed her.

"I miss him, too. I'm just glad he's having fun, though." Talia smiled, sitting down next to Bruce.

"But how did you really get to Gotham? None of the information we talk about tonight will be going back to your father, right?" Bruce came back with his questions.

"No! I… I had to lie to him. He thinks I'm just here to simply prove 'Talia Head' is alive." She stuttered. She didn't like thinking about it at all. Lying to her father ached her, as necessary as it was. Well, not exactly necessary, but at least needed if she wanted to be able to live her life and have even the tiniest bit of freedom.

"Okay…" Bruce responded. He knew that as long as she stayed with her father, she would need to continue to do things like this for them to be able to see each other at all. They both had to put in so much effort just for the tiniest visit. Their relationship was so complex, so dysfunctional, and it was all thanks to her terrible father. But as much as he wanted to believe her that she was willing to do this sort of thing to see him, he just couldn't be sure. He could feel his inner detective coming out. She was an assassin. A criminal. Criminals lie. "There's no way he'd even agree to that… There's gotta be a different reason." He muttered to himself.

"Beloved, please. I'm really not here because of him. Can't we just have fun?" Talia crossed her arms frustratedly. "I thought you were happy to see me."

"I am… but you're still with him and just because I love you doesn't mean I don't also have duties as a superhero to- "

"Please," Talia's voice softened as she looked into his eyes, "Just let us have this one night."

"Just this one night..." He repeated her words, letting the idea slip through his mind. The party had already seemed risky, but he wanted to give in to her so badly. "I suppose I've already talked to you long enough that letting our night go a little longer couldn't hurt too much. Really,I probably should've been more careful at the party in the first place but-"

"But I thought you were gonna let us have fun tonight?" Talia interrupted him yet again. She smiled, chuckling a little to herself. "Don't spend the entire time saying you're making a mistake."

Bruce smiled again back at her. "I suppose if I'm going to do this, I better make the most out of it."

They both leaned in for a kiss, closing their eyes and holding that kiss, that one night, that they could be with one another. This one chance for love.

"I…." Bruce stuttered to get their conversation going again.

Talia decided to continue asking her questions now that they had begun talking again,"I want to know more about how my dear little boy has been doing, Is Damian keeping up in school okay? He's a bright child, but the league never really saw academics as the most important of things. When it comes to knowledge, he was mostly just taught in war strategy. If he hadn't reformed, that's most of all the knowledge he'd need." Talia explained.

"He's doing fine. Not really that much of a star student, but his tutoring with the League of Assassins got him to slightly above average for his age." Bruce assured her.

Talia held Bruce's hand in hers, holding on to the precious moments that she knew would soon be gone. Back to the league, she would go. Just like she always did. Just like she always never really wanted to.

"That's good. Has he done well transitioning? I know you and his Grandfather's morals are quite different." She asked, smiling at the thought of Damian. Her beloved little son, who she couldn't have been prouder of. Him reforming was honestly for the best, even if it did mean she couldn't see him as often. He was becoming a better person, doing something that she wished she could do, too. But she just couldn't seem to bring up the courage to betray her father like that. To betray the place she grew up, the place that taught her almost everything she knew. Everything she knew except that reforming was the right thing to do.

"He's actually done fairly well. Hasn't killed anyone for a long time." Bruce answered her. He kissed Talia's cheek, making her smile that had already gradually faded magically come back.

"That's wonderful." Silence filled the air. Not an awkward one, but a peaceful one. A knowledge that they didn't need to speak to understand each other. That they could just sit there, hand in hand, and be able to grasp all every broken heartbeat in the other's soul. Not only that, but be able to feel the love and support they were trying to give each other for these aches, these bits of darkness. It was all they needed. They were content just knowing they were safe here, with their beloved.

Safer than she'd ever feel with her father. "He doesn't even care." Talia muttered. "That with his plan, all those people would die. Children. Families. Everyone." Her whisper became so light that even she could hardly hear it.

"He?" Bruce asked, making it obvious he had heard her silent cry.

"Yes. Father. He has so many awful plans." Talia complained. She got up from her seat, sighing as she talked. "Now he's saying that if he can't kill nine-tenths of humanity, perhaps it would be better to kill even more. Even, if he has to, everyone. Everyone but himself. How can he be so egotistical? That would mean killing me. Killing Damian. Killing Every. Single. Person."

She looked down, her voice saddening even more.

A small, soft, but hopeful smile took over Bruce's face. "It's not like he's going to get away with that. Besides, he can't really be planning to do that, can he? I have a hard time believing even he'd go that low."

"Well, no, not exactly. It's an absolute last resort if things really get out of his control. He believes in the very last seconds he has, it could very well be easier than specifically choosing out nine-tenths. That's the only scenarios in which he'd do that sort of thing… But it's still awful that he'd even consider it. Killing most of the population is bad enough." She sat back down, slouching over the opposite way of Bruce sadly.

"If you believe his views on the world are so terrible…. Then why do you stay with him? Why do you help him with his crimes?" Bruce questioned her. She sat up straighter upon hearing him ask her this.

"I don't even know anymore." She closed her eyes, daydreaming for just a moment that she was just living with Bruce and Damian, her father being completely gone from the picture. As much as she hated to admit it, it was beautiful. But didn't she love her father? Why was this so great? He was her loved one, not an enemy. "I just.. I can't betray him like that."

"Okay. Just know that if you ever change your mind about that, I'd be happy to have you stay with me and Damian instead. I know you can be a better person. You just need to leave him." Bruce assured her, leaning in for a kiss.

Talia smiled once again, continuing to talk with her Beloved, laughing the night away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I know some people will be upset about me not going with the idea that Damian is college-level in academics. I understand that it can be upsetting when people portray a favorite character of yours as not as powerful as you take them to be, so I'm sorry. It always seemed a little like DC was over-powering Damian with that stuff. Don't get me wrong, Damian is amazing for his age! It just seems like academics wouldn't be one of the things he's amazing at. War strategy and assassin training seems like it would be much more important to the league of assassins. That being said, I still am sorry, and I promise you this won't be mentioned again in the story, so please don't stop reading it.
> 
> Also, I know I skipped a lot of the party. I just don't think I could keep going for much longer without it getting boring. I hope you understand that I just started writing fan fiction, and I haven't learned how to keep a scene going like that. I'm sorry, yet again.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of the letter in this chapter was written by Alvaroant (On ff.net, since I don't know if they have an account on here), who also requested this story to me.
> 
> Also, I know this chapter is short, but it's all I had in me!

Talia's eyes flickered open to streaks of daylight peeking in through a window. Her arms rubbed against the blankets as she pulled herself up to a sitting position. She looked to the side of her, expecting to see Bruce.

She was painfully disappointed to find no such person. The space beside her was vacant, as was the entire room. Bruce was nowhere to be seen.

Talia pulled herself out of bed, beginning to search. To make sure he hadn't just gotten up earlier, and was waiting for her somewhere. But it seemed she was alone.

"I guess he was pretty serious about this just being one night..." Her voice sounded disheartened, her head still filled with confusion on where he could have gone. _He had been there last night, so why would he have left like this?_ Her eyes fluttered shut again as she flopped back onto the bed in disappointment and frustration. She laid there, much too conflicted and flooded with dismay to continue her visit without him.

She began to curl up tighter, just about ready to give up and go right back to sleep, when she felt a piece of paper crumble underneath her. She popped right back up, pulling the note from underneath the sheets. Next to it, she also found a single rose.

"For my queen," The letter began, and a small smile crept onto Talia's face at the words.

"Good Morning, Dear Talia. I hope you have slept well. Yesterday I had the best night, and it was all because you were there to make it special." Talia continued to read, mouthing the words to herself quietly. She smiled even bigger, a bashful chuckle escaping her lips.

"I regret not being at your side at this moment, to see you open your beautiful jade eyes and try to kiss them, but I was presented with an issue by the Justice League that requires my attention." Talia paused reading, letting a rush of both relief and understanding flow over her.

"That makes sense…." She whispered to herself, "I'm just glad that he didn't _really_ not want to have our visit be a second longer than it had to… that it wasn't that he wasn't enjoying it at all..." She hugged the letter to her chest, only letting it go to continue reading.

"You do not know how sorry I am for leaving, as despite my hesitance last night, I really did want to spend more time with you." Talia's eyes went back and forth, taking in every one of his loving words.

"I did, too, Beloved," She replied, knowing full-well that no one could hear her. Her voice was gentle and light, barely even speaking at all. She slowly wiped her hand across the letter, uncrumbling it so she could keep reading the rest of the love letter.

"I wanted to invite you to breakfast at that cafe you like so much here in Gotham before you travel back to Nanda Parbat. You do not know how much I would like you to _stay_ by my side as my beloved wife." It read. She thought about this for a moment. The idea of joining him, of being here, with him and their dear little son, was more than wonderful.

"I'd love to." The words slipped through her mouth before she could stop them. But just as she did, she saw the flaws in the idea. Would she not be betraying her father? Her father had done more bad things than she could count, but she'd need a little more of a reason if she was going to truly leave him like that.

"Damian misses you much. (Although he would not admit it in public.) My other adoptive kids would _also_ be happy to have you. (But more the girls.)" Was written next. Talia now thought of Jason, who she would also be very happy to be a little closer to. He often went off with the outlaws, but at least she'd see him more then she did _now_. They'd gotten so close after she revived him with the lazarus pit, so she found herself now missing _him_ , too. Was this enough of a reason to leave?

No. Jason wasn't even with the batfamily much, anyway, so it seemed like this tiny of a reason wasn't worth it.

"Finally, I hope you can excuse me and that you have a wonderful trip." The letter finished off. Underneath, "Your Beloved, Bruce Wayne." Was written as a signature. Talia turned her attention back to the rose that was next to the letter.

It was a dark red one, with a light green stem. She carefully picked it up, smiling at the thought of who had given it to her. She carefully set it on the nightstand, propping it up so she could see it properly.

"Well, I guess I could just go to that cafe alone…." She suggested to herself. She was definitely hungry, as her belly wasn't even feeling very good. But the thoughts of going without Bruce seemed so depressing, so lonely. "Maybe somewhere else…." Talia dismissed the idea of going to the place that Bruce wanted to take her without him. It just didn't feel right.

Her stomach grumbled, "I better hurry up." She quickly began to get ready. But it wasn't just her appetite that felt off. There was something else about her belly that was different, too. She was even just the tiniest bit nauseous.

"It's probably nothing." She assured herself, shaking the concern off. But it really did seem like there was a little bit of something going on with her, as little of a difference as it was.

A certain idea came to her head, a much more beautiful one than having some sort of sickness. She smiled to herself, putting a hand gently to her belly, but quickly threw the idea away. "I shouldn't get my hopes up." She mumbled, quickly beginning to continue her day.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I deeply apologize for how rushed the flashback in this is.

**A FEW WEEKS LATER**

Talia sat down, rubbing her belly calmly. Her heart melted inside as she touched it, thinking of the precious thing that was inside. She could have sworn she heard the squeak of an infant from inside there, and though it couldn't have been real, it made her smile anyways. A quiet kind of joy had taken over her, thinking about all the wonders of this news she had recently discovered. For that moment, everything seemed perfect.

"I love you, my baby…" She whispered to it, smiling softly. She couldn't have been happier, there, with her unborn child closer than anyone already born could ever get. She began to feel herself drifting off into daydreams, imagining how cute the baby would be, and what she'd name them. There was nothing in the world that could stop her from loving this baby.

She could hardly believe it. She was pregnant, and especially after being away from Damian, her first child so much, it felt good knowing that, although it wasn't born yet, there was another child inside her. With her, day and night, that she'd one day get to start nurturing and holding, loving more than anything in the world. She didn't know how that baby would be amazing, or whether or not they'd be a natural soldier, but it didn't matter. They'd be amazing somehow, she was sure, even if it wasn't obvious at first glance. They'd be amazing, even if they had trouble doing the most basic things. They'd be amazing because they'd be them.

But this quickly reminded her of someone else who was less open to who the child was, or what they were good at. One that would take every chance he got to criticize the child if they did not fit his tastes. One that would make the child never hardly get a chance to relax, as he'd always have some new expectations they had to get up to. One that wouldn't do much more than harm them.

"Father…" She reminded herself. She feared if the baby was around him, that they would never truly get a full childhood. Damian, also, she feared, didn't have a very good time when he was around his grandfather. He'd always had the hardest of standards thrown on him, as that's exactly what would happen when someone is supposed to be her father's heir. They're supposed to be the most impressive person in the universe when they're only a few years old.

There were so many things she regretted when it came to taking care of Damian, and raising him with the league of assassins was one of the biggest. The league was not at all a good place for children, as there's murder and danger almost everywhere, and nobody really likes kids. Everyone views them as these people that need to be better, and that lack maturity. Nobody ever thought they were cute or sweet, and their innocence was frowned upon. Besides, while he was with the league, he never got to even meet his father. Now that he had gone off with his father, he seemed so much happier. His father was good with kids, and gave him some more love in his life that he definitely needed. Not only that, but he was so much more free to be who he wanted, and actually have fun.

Talia wanted all that for this baby, and so much more. She wrapped her arm around her belly protectively. Her father may have had control over Damian, but she would not allow him to have control over this baby.

"When you're born, I swear, I'll leave him for you." She promised, "So we can all live happily together… You, your brother, your father, and me." The idea sparked a hopeful smile on her mouth. "Together."

She layed back, enjoying the sweet silence she got to share with her baby. She felt as though there was someone sitting next to her, keeping her company. Someone that could actually communicate. Of course, she didn't need to communicate with the person she was sharing this silence with. Just knowing they were there, and that they existed, was enough.

"Oh," She interrupted the quiet setting, "Let's not forget all your other siblings your father adopted. You'd have them, too."

The only thing that stopped this daydream from being the best thing in the whole world was how angry her father would be. He'd surely be tracking their family down, wanting to kill them. She shuddered at the idea. As much as she wanted to just stay away from Ra's, and not have to hurt him nor help him, they'd have no choice but to bring him down. For this sweet little baby's safety.

This entire crazy thing was the reason she'd never actually went through with it before. But now, she understood that she had to do what was best for this baby… and the rest of their family. For now, she figured she should just try to enjoy being with her father. Just spend time with him, and be grateful he wasn't trying to kill her. Grateful that they'd even made it through last time she did something traitorous.

She remembered that she had told Ra's that she was taking Damian to Paris, as according to her, there was someone that she suspected had learned too much information about the league of assassins, and if they didn't do something, they might even spill some secrets to the authorities. Talia had insisted that Damian had to come, too, because it would be very educational for Damian to learn about what to do if he suspected someone knew too much.

But truthfully, she was just fed up with the way Ra's treated Damian. She didn't even know what the extent of his punishment that he gave Damian went to, and lately, she had seen evidence that suggested whatever they were was terrible. For some reason, Talia had just kind of hoped that Ra's understood that it was not his place to choose how to punish Damian, and that she could handle that stuff herself. Of course, Damian was a very obedient child, at least in her eyes, so she could mostly get away with just small lectures here and there.

But no, Ra's constantly acted like he could punish the poor child however he saw fit, all because Damian was technically a member of his league, and Ra's never went easy with these things. So for her sweet little baby's safety, she had gone to Gotham, instead.

Damian didn't even know that they weren't going to Paris. "Why does it say 'welcome to Gotham' right there, Mother?" He asked, pointing to a large sign that was held up by thick poles, "This is Paris… right?"

"I'll explain it to you a little later." Talia put a hand on Damian's shoulder and leaned down to whisper into his ear, "We're not in Paris, we're in Gotham. I was afraid your grandfather wouldn't approve, so I'm afraid I may have lied to him.. Just a little. But as I said before, I'll tell you the rest later."

That night, she took Damian by the hand, pulling him outside where the moon was glowing bright. There was a dark figure that contrasted that dark moon, though. The silhouette of a bat jumped from rooftop to rooftop, scouring the city streets. Talia led Damian in the direction of the figure, bringing him onto a roof, as well, and following the vigilante on his path until he finally noticed them and approached them.

"Who are… Talia?" Batman got close enough to make out her face. He tried to hide the smile showing up on his face, "What are you doing here? It's great to... wait a second. I was kind of hoping that this would be a quiet night, but Ra's Al Ghul is one of my most powerful enemies, and now he's here?"

"No… I just wanted you to meet this little boy," Talia explained, "His name is Dami-"

"I can introduce myself, Mother. Besides, I'm not a little boy. My name is Damian Al Ghul, and I am the grandson and heir to the great Ra's Al Ghul that you spoke of." Damian interrupted her, stepping in between her and Batman. "But did you say that he is your enemy? How dare you! You will pay!" The ten-year-old ran towards Batman, a fist out in front him.

Talia quickly ran out in front of Damian, "Stop! Damian, you can't just go around trying to kill everyone that doesn't worship your grandfather. There are plenty of good people in the world that don't like him. Not everyone gets along with him, that's all." She tried to reason with him.

Damian settled down for a moment, crossing his arms, "Fine, then. I'll give him a chance, for you. But why are we even here, anyway? Who is he?" Damian pointed to Batman , looking at Talia impatiently.

"He's your father. I thought it was about time you met him." Talia informed her son. A look of surprise came onto both Damian and Batman's faces. They looked at each other curiously, taking in this person who they were apparently related to.

"He's my…. Does this mean you've had a romance with this traitor, Mother?" Damian asked accusingly. He stomped back and forth on the roof, crossing his arms angrily, "I can't believe all this. Did you really date a traitor?!"

Batman stepped forward, "Look, um, Damian…. I don't know much about this whole thing, but I do know you're right about one thing. Your mother and I are in love, but I'm not a traitor. I've always been against the league of assassins." He began to explain what he knew to the child.

Talia began to introduce the two a bit more, and the two began to bond a bit more. She tried to sort out any confusion between the two of them, and soon she felt that it was okay for her to leave then.

She hugged Damian close, cherishing that hug, and then kissed him on the top of his head. She slowly made her way back into the night, without him. She kept peeking back, waving to Damian as she left.

Damian, of course, was very unprepared for this move. He was in no way happy about it, as he'd just met his father, and wanted to just stay with his grandfather. Talia was sure they'd start getting along and truly being a family at some point.. It would just take time.

Ra's was also caught unaware. When Talia returned, he expected to see his grandson with her. But instead, she had seemed to be alone. He had noticed that she seemed very nervous as she approached him, as if she wanted to just avoid him altogether. She had been biting her lip, looking down, and constantly glancing the opposite way, like she was looking for a quick escape.

"Where's my grandson?" Ra's confronted her, "Something bad didn't happen, did it?"

"He's…" The idea of lying that Damian had really been in some sort of terrible accident had come to her head, but she had also quickly realized that she'd already ruined her chance at that. If that had actually happened, she'd be in tears right now, and yet she was standing there, completely calm. She figured she should just tell him the truth and hope for the best. He'd figure at some point, anyway. "He's kind of… with his father."

"With his… What?!" Ra's stared at her, shocked. "How?! Why was the detective in Paris?"

"I… He…" Talia stuttered. They continued to talk, Ra's obviously angry beyond belief at Talia, but in the end, she had just barely managed to get him to agree to just let Damian be with his grandfather, because supposedly they "had already been with each other two long for Damian to want to return".

Talia remembered this all with pure amazement of how she'd somehow managed that and was still with the league of assassins. Perhaps it was because she was one of his most skilled assassins. Perhaps it was because he really did care about her, and didn't want to hurt her, regardless of the traitor she'd proven herself to be. Perhaps it was because he was just… too tired to kick her out or something.

It didn't matter. Not now. Because now she would be betraying him fully, just plainly choosing to leave him. All those other times she had come back. All those other times she at least wanted him to forgive, to let her back in. But this time, she'd be gone. Gone, and a traitor to the fullest extent. She'd be an enemy, and he had made it obvious that he killed his enemies.


	6. Chapter 6

**A FEW MORE WEEKS LATER**

Talia stared at the training equipment. Her eyes glanced towards the targets, some of them being for guns, some just for arrows. She grabbed a gun, easily aiming it at the target in front of her. The room was silent as she stared at the practice target, no one around to disturb it.

 _Boom!_ Any bit of peace left as she shot the bullet directly at the target. It was in the exact middle, not a centimeter off from where she had wanted it to go. Then again, guns were pretty easy. She grabbed a bow and arrow off a shelf, aiming it another target. She carefully steadied the bow, until it was pointed at the target's middle.

 _Whoosh!_ The arrow flew through the air, making a bullseye as it hit the middle of the target. Talia smiled at her success, quickly deciding she didn't really need to work on that. The question was, though, what she was supposed to do now. Her trusty sword caught her eye, sitting in the corner of the room. Talia scurried over, quickly grabbing it. Surely there was someone who would want to do some friendly sword-fighting with her.

It didn't take her more than a second to realize the problem with this idea, though. Her hand gently touched her belly, reminding her or the fragile being inside her. The baby could easily get hurt if she sparred, considering sparring usually involved getting swords stabbed at you at least a little. She could probably do a gentle sparring match, but the idea of losing the baby scared Talia too much for her to risk it.

She began to just slice and stab into the air with the weapon, just trying to get her training done in the safest way possible. Trying to stay out of danger was in no way normal for her, but she figured she had to for the baby's sake. She didn't know what she'd do if the baby was killed, or even hurt, and this was the best way to avoid such a terrible situation.

"I love you, my sweet heart," She whispered to it, hoping that it could hear her. Even though it was probably too early in her pregnancy to actually feel anything, she could have sworn she felt the baby squirm a little bit inside her. It was beautiful, even if she hadn't actually met this baby yet. Anyone that tried to get in the way of this Talia would make sure is dead by sunset.

* * *

**LATER THAT DAY**

Talia was just sitting in a chair, calmly massaging her belly, when she heard the door open, the hinges creaking as it did so. Her father stood in the doorway, gesturing for her to get up and come over to him. She quickly pulled herself up from the seat.

"What is it, Father?" Talia asked.

"I need you to lead an attack in a few days." Ra's explained. He gently grabbed her arm, tugging her into the hallway. Talia found herself being pulled all the way to another area of the headquarters, her father speed walking the entire way. The room they ended up in had all sorts of small objects placed on a large table. Each object was arranged in a scattered yet exact way. Ra's looked intensely at the objects, studying what he had put together just a few hours earlier. He picked up one of the objects, pointing to it as he talked. "Now, the plan is for you to go-"

"No," Talia interrupted him. She watched as her father stared at her, a confused look taking over his face. His expression quickly fell into anger at this rejection. Talia put a hand on his mouth before he could yell at her. "I can't go on the mission. It's not safe."

"It doesn't _matter_ if it's not safe! You're an _assassin_." Ra's insisted. He turned back to the object in his hand, placing it down on the table again. "Daughter, I see no reason that you going on the mission should be a problem. Now, may I continue what I was saying before you so rudely interrupted?"

"But the baby!" Talia protested, her voice becoming firmer and more confident. She crossed her arm. Ra's looked up from what he was about to show Talia, looking at her with more confusion than when she had first interrupted. The confusion in his expression was much less angry than before, though. He almost seemed pleased at whatever he was confused about. Talia ignored the odd expression. "I'm _not_ going."

"Baby?" Ra's repeated to himself, thinking the words over. He paused, looking at Talia for answers. He stood there just mulling it over for a second. Next thing he knew, his questions were spilling out of his mouth. "Who is this baby? Are you…?"

Talia smiled, "Yes, Father. I am pregnant. Sorry, it seems I had forgotten to tell you…" Her smile faded for a second. As unrealistic as it was, part of her wanted to not tell him at all. She knew he could find the whole thing very suspicious, and him suspecting anything could keep her from leaving once the baby was born. But of course, he'd learn at some point, anyway, since at some point her being pregnant would become visibly obvious. She pulled her smile back on.

"Congratulations." Ra's responded, a hint of uncertainty still in his voice. He took a second to try to figure out how this was even possible, but quickly tried to brush it off. A smile flew onto his face. "This baby, my grandchild…. You don't suppose they'd make a good heir, do you?"

"They're _not_ going to be your heir." Talia's smile vanished, her arms going back to being crossed. She took a step back from Ra's, as if to try to protect the baby from him. Talia gently put a hand next to where she supposed the baby's head might be nearby. "It's not what's best for my precious child, and I only want what's best for them."

"I-" He stuttered. This was such a problem to him, having this "heir" taken away from him. Ra's wasn't used to his daughter being so against children being his heir. It rouse a bit of suspicion in him. "If you're sure…" He gave in, secretly trying to push away all the ideas he had of how to force the child into being his heir.

"Thank you. Now, for the baby's sake, I hope you understand why I can't lead that attack." Talia stated. "I can go right back to being your assassin once the baby is born, okay?" She began to leave, glancing back to see Ra's reluctantly nod. He looked back down at the objects scattered on the table, lost in thought. His fingers grasped the one that he was using to symbolize Talia. It was a small cup, a fancy design painted on the glass. He took it, pushing it out of the way, now knowing that she couldn't help. But it quickly came to his attention that just because she couldn't fight _for_ him, doesn't mean there couldn't be plots that involve her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick note that if you couldn't figure it out, those objects on the table were supposed to be like when people in TV shows and movies use things on a table to symbolize different people and armies when planning. You know, so they can figure out what they'll do and be able to figure out what the enemy will do and stuff? Hopefully you know what I'm talking about...


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I am cutting this short. So basically, I'm making this story dead. So I'm not going to be updating anymore. I know this is kind of an abrupt place to stop, so sorry if this is a cliffhanger. The fact that I'm cutting this off is kind of the reason it took me so long to even get this out. Anyhow, I did still make a last chapter, although it's only half as long as normal, but here it is. If you liked this story, please consider checking ever so often to see whether or not I've written anything else that's similar. I love writing brutalia (and just Talia in general) so I'll definitely have some more stuff in those categories soon, especially with Talia Al Ghul Fan Week coming up!

**A WEEK LATER**

Talia was seated on a couch, silently flipping through the pages of a large book. The book was filled with names, all sorts of them. A lot of them were quite old and formal, but there were still a few more modern ones that could be found among the old-fashioned. Talia swayed away dust as she read through each name, imagining calling her child it. None of them so far had really seemed beautiful enough to fit her beautiful child, nor had the right ring to it. She continued to flip, and flip, and flip through even more pages, endlessly searching for the right one.

Talia had never really thought about what she'd name her second child. Damian had always seemed like an appealing name since childhood, but she didn't really have more than one favorite name. As a child, most people think about having children, and what they would name the child, but a lot of people only thought of the first one. Talia, unfortunately, was one of these people. She sighed as she rejected yet another name.

Her hand brushed the side of the book, making her realize she had already sped through more than half of it. In fact, it seemed like she only had about 10 pages left. There was one more book of names that the league of assassins had, but most of the names in it were simply duplicates of the names this book contained.

"Well, it's not like there aren't plenty of other ways to look for the right name than books." Talia assured herself, turning yet another page, "I just need to be patient. I have plenty of time until the baby is born, so there's no need to rush." She heard a small crinkle as she slowly pushed her way past a couple more pages.

After a few more minutes of rejecting name after name, Talia found a name that made her smile. Her arm paused flipping, letting her fingers trace along the lines of the letters in the name. "Athansia…" She mumbled the name to herself. After thinking for a few seconds, she felt herself smile with acceptance to the name. "It's beautiful."

She looked down at the name one more time, quickly realizing it was on the last page. Not only that, but it was the last name on the last page. It was just waiting there for her to find it, after searching the entire rest of the book hopelessly. But it was beautiful. It was perfect. It felt right, of course she quickly reminded herself she _also_ had to find a boy's name, as well. _Athansia_ was only a girl's name. Talia sighed at this realization, pulling herself over to pick up the other book.

Her arms went right back to flipping, her mind going back to rejecting along with it. None of these would do, it seemed. None but Athansia. Talia had to come up with some boy's name, though, even if -for the name's sake- she kind of hoped it would be a girl.

"I can continue this another time. For now, I've found a name that I like. A lot." Talia decided, putting the books back where they belonged. She touched a hand to her belly. "I love you, my sweet little Athansia… or probably Athansia. I love you."


End file.
